Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-11-19
Some technical glitches plagued the beginning of the show but everything got fixed and the Joey Jones Show aired the rest of the way without any problems.
One of the first things brought up was uniforms that the team will be sporting come football season 2009. After a couple of helmet designs were shown and voted on by the players and coaches they settled on silver helmets with the new Jaguar logo on the side and red bars for the facemask. The jersey will be solid red with large numbers on the front and back as well as numbers on the sleeves and possibly “Jaguars” written across the top, front. I suspect the numbers will be white trimmed in blue but I think two paw prints would be good on the front on either side of the “Jaguars”. The pants will be silver with red white and blue stripes down the side.
This uniform will be reminiscent of Ohio State University’s uniform. Coach Jones also wants to have a reward system similar to OSU and FSU which could be paw print stickers that would be put on the helmet.
On the scheduling front, Coach Jones said that they were getting quite close to finalizing next years schedule but also have been in contact with several other schools for future scheduling such as LSU, Texas A&M and another school I was unable to hear due to the glitches mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Lee Shirvanian asked about practices, if they are open to the public and what their schedule is since many people who talk to him has been asking the same questions. Coach Jones said that the Spring practice sessions would probably be Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with scrimmages held on Saturday and they would be open to the public. They will be held at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. They could be held on the intramural fields but they do not have a dressing facility and the administration at Ladd will allow them to have their sleds and other practice gear on the field there.
Lee’s questions about the number of student athletes who are still coming out for practice and Coach Jones most memorable Iron Bowl game were both cut off by the last of the technical glitches of the day.
But this led to a short talk about planning. Their plan was crumbling and so they had to improvise. That is paralleled from a coaching standpoint. Each week the coaches come up with a game plan to implement against an opponent. It is impossible to have both a fool proof plan and perfect execution in order to implement that plan without any improvisation on the part of the coaches. Its essential for coaches to be able to adapt a game plan on the fly and in the locker room at halftime. But great coaches have their players prepared to do the same. For example, the offensive line needs to know how to react in order to properly block a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. But what about the other defenses that they may see? They could see a 4-4, a 5-2-4, a nickle or a dime defense (we’re not talking about money or nickle and diming a team to death). Good coaches have their players ready for improvisation.
This will be South Alabama’s first recruiting class. So starting on December 1st, the coaching staff can start to go out and meet with kids one time. All of the coaches will be involved in recruiting. Coach Jones talked with Athletic Director Joe Gottfried and they agreed that every coach needs to be out from day 1 until the last day they can be recruiting according to NCAA rules. Each coach will have an area they are recruiting and Coach Jones will be traveling to meet with and help each coach in their respective area.
Lee asked what is the mixture of home visits and school visits. Coach Jones answered that obviously both have advantages and disadvantages. With school visits you get to meet the principle and teachers to see how they are doing academically. Those people can be a big influence on their decision making and help them go where it will be best for them, which is hopefully USA. Other kids can see the presence of South Alabama and could start thinking about it as a place to go. But ultimately it good to visit in the home where the decisions are made with Mom and Dad.
Lee then asked Coach Jones if he knew how many verbal commitments are solid and how many are wavering. Coach Jones said that the assistant coaches are calling recruits weekly and they get to know the kids and can tell how they are feeling. They get a sense about their commitment levels based on talking with them. But you occasionally get a surprise and have to regroup.
The coaches have a list of positions to fill and then they have a list of kids for those position. Based on many factors the kids are rated and listed in order for those posisitons. Obviously they want to land the kid on the top of the list but it doesn’t alway happen. Larger schools are recruiting against other large schools and if they lose that recruit, then they can come in and get USA’s top recruit for a position. So they have the list of kids or positions and they are in contact with many of them at a time. If their top recruit is snatched up they continue working on the next in line. Its the food chain of college sports.
One thing that Lee Shirvanian pointed out was that we could participate in JV games. Coach Jones agreed but also said that he has talked to some schools about that many do not do that, they simply focus on the Varsity team and its games. It would be a good way for 3rd string or even lower kids to gain experience however.
The last bit on recruiting that I will talk about and was brought up in the radio show was how well Nick Saban recruits for Alabama. Part of it is how he stays up on the rules but how he can find legal ways around the rules. While a coach can not meet wtih recruits during certain parts of the season, he can video conference with them. This was talked about last year. He found an innovative way to talk to kids which is not explicitly forbidden in the scope of the NCAA rules.
For those Jaguar fans in Mobile area, keep your eyes and ears open. I would expect some event to show off the new uniform to the public in the near future. The timing will obviously depend on when all aspects of the uniform and finalized and when a complete uniform can be produced for public viewing. Until then get your season tickets for the 2009 season tickets now and come out to support the basketball teams.
Go Jags!
Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-11-12
This week Matthew and I decided not to try to go to Wings for an in-person viewing of the show but rather I stayed home and listened on the radio. So come to find out why Coach Jones wasn’t on last week was because he and his staff was in Kentucky taking a chance to observe their staff go about their daily routine. I guess seeing how an SEC coaching staff goes about its day is something that could help a new program get started.
President Gordon Moulton was the special guest on the show this week and together they talked about several things which I will get into during the course of this article. The first thing mentioned was that less than a year ago (December will be one year) since the football program was approved at USA and look how far we have come. We have a little over 100 players and about 800 signed up online for the marching band. This has all been accomplished in the last 11 months. Currently, USA is on track to be the fastest program to go from inception to Division I play in NCAA history (at least since they started keeping track of this stat).
President Moulton made light that this could mean a few rough years to begin with but ultimately if so both he and coach Jones believe this is best for our program. But those tough years could be offset by the teams we play. Getting into matchups with teams like Tennessee, whom we have a date with in 2013, could help the program along both financially and personel wise.
Coach Jones made light that practice has been going well and the team and staff have been working hard to keep their competitive fire going even though they are not taking the field against opponents this year. Its easier to keep that fire going when you work all week implementing a game plan to pit against a team on Saturday. But it takes some special players and staff to keep up that kind of will all semester without any opponents.
The BCS was mentioned during the show by the host Lee Shirvanian. President Moulton said that up until now that his talks with other university presidents did not include football because we did not have that program. But university presidents take issue with a playoff system because it would be that much more time out of the classroom for the players. When you get eight teams playing a playoff you end up extending the already long season by another three games. Coach Jones supported the idea of the ‘plus one’ scenerio put forth not long ago but it could easily be extended to a four team playoff where #4 vs #1 and #3 vs #2 would then pit the winners against each other. But then again it would be easier to extend that playoff to add more teams like the fear by president Moulton.
Lee Shirvanian brought up an interesting point likening college football to NFL football if a playoff was instituted. The draw of college football is how meaningful each and every game is during the course of a season. Many teams cannot afford a single loss or else you are out of the running. If a playoff system was added then the passion around each and every game could lessen and you would result with the NFL where as long as you make the playoffs you can slack off some during the season. In three or four years down the road USA will have to work hard not to lose a game in the Sun Belt Conference because that one loss could be the difference between winning the conference championship or not.
It took South Florida nine years to go from program inception to being ranking in the top 25 last year. Their plan was a 6 year plan to go from inception to playing in Division I football which is currently the fastest program to begin Division I football. USA is currently on pace to beat that with an ambitious plan to be in Division I football in four years. Obviously it would be great to be ahead of their schedule in being ranked in the top 25 as well.
The talk then drifted to recruiting and facilities. The foundation is being set now for the new fieldhouse for the football team and it will look stellar. Over a thousand beds have been added on campus through the building of the student apartments in The Grove. Coupled with the new Student Rec Center currently under construction, our facilities will be on par or better than any in the conference which will pay dividends in recruiting.
In addition to the field house being under construction, the practice fields are under construction. The grass field is almost finished and the artificial turf field is well under way, coach Jones said.
As for our stadium, they are working or have already worked out a 5-year contract with Ladd-Peebles Stadium to be the home of the USA Jaguars. While eventually alumni and supporters will want an on campus stadium, it will have to be funded privately through the community and the school.
Coach Jones is working to finalize the football uniform colors and design. He told everyone listening that he carried a preliminary design to Moultons office this week. The marching band is also working to finalize their uniform and both will look excellent when they take to the field for the first time in 2009.
They then turned to the economy and how it may affect college sports in the near future. It is quite obvious that the economy is not as strong as it has been recently but it has not taken a toll on college sports yet. But the possible affect is not known yet. President Moulton said that the program with staff and all scholarships will cost about $5 Million per year. Which in the scheme of things, is not bad. As we get further into the program and into Division I football, those costs will rise. But “not a single nickle” has come from the academic side. All of the money thus far has come from supporters and from student fees. This was done so that the program could operate normally and not in a deficit during its first few years.
Another guest to make an appearance on the show was Travis Toth, who is the new marketing director at USA. He has been working with on campus organizations to help promote athletics more. Just for Monday nights exhibition match the Mitchell Center drew just under 3,000 people with 706 students in attendance. Basketball will have some concerts on the steps of the Mitchell Center this season. Baseball will also have concerts before or after a number of their games.
Mr. Toth then turned to tickets sales. Next season there is going to be a guaranteed 6 game home schedule with a possible 7th game in the works by coach Jones. Season tickets for the football games is only $75 and will go on sale to the general public next week. He also informed us that less than 150 season tickets are still available for the lower level of the Mitchell Center this season. Plus for a 16 games at home and the low price of $50 per season ticket (for upper level seating) the value is phenomenal.
Finally Coach Jones said he may miss an episode of the show in December due to a recruiting trip to Texas. But he is working on something special for national signing day so stay tuned for this and more.
Go Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-11-05
Its a little late but what we were hoping to be the ‘Extra Special Coach Joey Jones Show Recap’ failed to work out. Matthew and I decided to meet at Bob Baumhauers Wing’s Restaurant to see the show live, only to be denied when Coach Jones was not there for the show. In his place was Athletic Director Joe Gottfried.
But even then we were ready to give everyone a recap but the universe was conspiring against us yet again. We were three tables away from their desk but could not hear the show. About 20 minutes into the show they finally tuned the restaurant sound system to the radio show but it was too loud to hear still.
So instead of the normal review I will review my meal at Wings. As an appetizer, we got a plate of Triple Play Cheese Fries. Which was a large platter of curled fries with Monterrey Jack and Cheddar cheese then finished off with bacon and served with ranch dipping sauce. Obviously it was good because its cheese fries but the bacon makes anything better. Instead of going for what I am now calling ‘The Coach Jones Special’ which is Black and White Chicken, I opted for the Royal Rooster sandwich for my entree. It consists of a battered and fried chicken breast topped with applewood smoked bacon and Monterrey Jack cheese and also served with fries. So I ate too many fries.
Matthew ordered the Fried Wiggles which are thick sliced ‘sweet heat’ pickles that are battered and fried. First off, I do not like sweet pickles so they were not of my liking but if you like sweet pickles, by all means give them a try.
Also, today November 10th marks less than 300 days until the South Alabama Jaguars take the field for the first time in school history.
Go Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2008-10-29
The big news at the top of the show was the press release about the Jags playing in Knoxville in 2013. Coach Jones explained why we will play Tennessee instead of an Ohio State or another team that pays more money for a school like us to come in and play. They wanted a big game in the region that payed a fair amount of money but allowed our fans to travel better than to an Ohio State or Nebraska.
The question was asked if Coach Jones had spoken with Alabama or Auburn to schedule a game. Coach Jones said he had been in touch with people at Auburn but neither Alabama or Auburn play in-state teams. He referred back to USAs upset victory over Alabama in the late 80’s. It was a devestating loss for Wimp Sanderson, which he considers his worse loss still after all of these years.
Joining Coach Jones on the show was Brian Turner, recruiting coordinator/defensive staff for the Jags football team. Coach Jones tauted Coach Turners recruiting ability at Troy and how it will help the team to have such a good recruiter on the staff. Troy has been recruiting great players and had one player chosen in the first round of the NFL draft last year. With the prime recruits in the local area watch closely to see what kind of recruits come to play for USA.
A caller asked about scholarships, how many does USA have to give out in its first year. Jones replied that by rule they only have 30 scholarships in the first year, with 16 already given out. So they have 14 they could use between now and the end of december that they can count toward this years number. They are looking for older, more experienced players like JuCo transfers to possibly come play for the Jags.
Another question was asked about game days. Will USA play many Thursday night games, Friday games or Saturday games. Coach Jones, while in Birmingham, saw that Thursday night games worked well because of the lack of conflict with other college games. So USA will definitely have some Thursday night games. But they will also test the waters with various days and times in the first couple years before getting into the FBS (Division I) full time in 2013. They want to have the best experience for USA fans that they can give and in the true southern tradition, great tailgating.
It was noted that something unique for USA right now in Division II is that Coach Jones can contact recruits many times when Division I coaches cannot. So this should benefit Jaguar recruiting for the next few years before going into Division I. If USA hears that SEC teams are recruiting a player then they will be targeted by USA as well.
Another recruiting question was asked about facilities and its role in recruiting. With teams pushing to build better practice facilities and bigger stadiums, what are the USA staff saying to recruits along those lines? Coach Jones pointed out that there has been a shift in what recruits are looking for in the last several years. It used to be the case that the Coaches was the number one reason a kid chose a school. But now the focus has turned more towards the facilities and training areas.
USA staff have been talking about the new fieldhouse plans, coaches offices and player lounge. But one big recruiting tool is student housing in The Grove. Coach Turner said that The Grove beats what Troy had easily. While players who are offered scholarships to Auburn or Alabama will most likely go there, we are targeting players that are just below them. The players that could play at Alabama or Auburn but didn’t receive a scholarship there. Again, The Grove and our forthcoming facilities are playing a part in helping to land those players. It will help tremendously to sell out Ladd-Peebles stadium every game in recruiting and exposure.
Go Jags!
Jaguar Football Defensive Scheme Scoop
On the noon radio broadcast today of the Joey Jones radio show, defensive coordinator Bill Clark was the guest from the coaching staff. One of the callers (not myself unfortunately) asked about the Jaguar defensive scheme. More specifically what would be their base scheme.
I suspected it was going to be the widely used 3-4 and those suspicions were confirmed on the show. Coach Clark said they would be utilizing a 3-4 base. To break it down for those who may not know football lingo too well the 3-4 scheme uses three down linemen, typically two defensive ends and a nose tackle, and four linebackers. Your linemen are typically larger and a little on the slow side, while your linebackers are still fairly large but are more manuverable. This leaves four defensive backs which are normally two cornerbacks and two safeties. The safeties may merely be referred to as safeties or could be broken down into a strong safety and a free safety. These guys cover the receivers downfield and are typically fast.
Many high school teams will use a 4-3 base defense (four down linemen and three linebackers). Since high school football tends to be more run oriented, the 4-3 is better suited for a strong run defense. This is not to say that a 3-4 is weak against the run.
Its all about a thing called ‘gaps’. When looking at the offensive line you have five linemen. Two guards, two tackles and a center. Between each of the linemen is a ‘gap’ which is four, then you have the left side and right side ‘gaps’ that bring the total up to six and if there is a tight end used as a blocker then there could be a seventh gap. Its easier to cover the inside gaps with four down linemen than it is with three typically. But if you look at Alabama and their nose tackle, you can get an understanding of how a 3-4 can be as good or better in stopping the run. Alabama’s nose tackle, Terrance Cody, is considered a ‘two gapper’ which means he is big and strong enough to take away the two gaps up the middle (on either side of the center). Which leaves you with six guys to cover four (or five) gaps. Its all pretty complicated with analytical geometry (not really just a Better Than Ezra quote there). But a 3-4 can also typically give you more speed on the field (another faster linebacker than a slower defensive lineman).
Back to what I started talking about. The jags defense will be a base 3-4 but will be flexible and will be able to run the 4-3 just as well. This is pretty typical, but he emphasized the fact that they want to be flexible which can also be translated into “we want to give the offense many different looks to keep them guessing”.
Other points of interest from the radio show was tickets. Hopefully in the next few weeks ticket information and prices will finally be available. They stated that it would be very affordable for everyone in the area. Also Joe Gottfried, and I suspect Coach Jones, is working on schedules. Scheduling is a long term thing and they are not put together a year or two in advance. It is a true vision of where you want the program to go in the future. So not only are they dealing with schedules for 2009 and 2010 but they are working on schedules six, eight and even ten years down the road. Its a long term plan to make South Alabama a strong and successful football program.
So keep checking back for the scoop on tickets and schedules and like always,
Go Jags!